The Forgotten Room – Lincoln Child (Jeremy Logan #4)
The Forgotten Room is the fourth book in Lincoln Child’s series featuring enigmalogist Jeremy Logan. While I have read many of the books in the Pendergrast series, which Child writes with Douglas Preston, this is the first of his solo books, that I have read.
The setting of the book is a Gothic Mansion in Rhode Island that is the home of the elite think-tank The Lux. Jeremy returns to the Lux, where he was a resident for many years, before he was asked to leave, to help determine what happened to one of the Lux’s top scientists. The scientist began to exhibit strange behavior several weeks prior, and ended up committing suicide in a horrific manner. The erratic behavior started soon after the scientist was asked to direct the remodeling of the forgotten West Wing of the mansion. Soon after Logan begins his investigation he discovers a room hidden within the wing. The room has no windows or doors leaving no means to enter or leave the room. In the middle of the room was a piece of equipment unlike anything Jeremy has seen! What does it do? What is the purpose of the room and does it have anything to do with the death of the scientist or the sights and sounds that others, including Jeremy are experiencing? So Jeremy and the scientist’s assistant set out to find out what’s happening before someone else dies.
While I don’t think that The Forgotten Room is one the same level as the popular Pendergrast series, I do think it’s a damn good read. Many of the things that have happened at the Lux including voices that lead people to contemplate suicide, remind me of Patrick Lee’s book Runner. Overall,I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot more than the character of Jeremy Logan. That may be because I haven’t read any of the previous novels in which he appears.So to really enjoy the series I think I’ll need to go back and read the first book! Here’s what are some others have to say about The Forgotten Room
“Reflects the best of the ‘mad scientist and locked room’ mysteries of the early twentieth century . . . Fun and intriguing.” —Associated Press
“Chilling. . . . Child makes the most of the creepy setting, his unusual lead character, and an intricate plot.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] very imaginative story for those who prefer a soft blending of mystery and paranormal.” —Booklist
An interesting sidelight of the book was that at one point in the book the neurological phenomenon of synesthesia became a part of the story line. In one form of this phenomenon people see numbers and letters as being different colors, others see time as a 3 dimensional time-line. In others at time inanimate objects seem to exhibit emotions. The condition was studied extensively in the 18th and 19th century but interest dropped off in the 20th century. What’s interesting or odd is that one of the other books that I was reading at the same time was The Toaster Oven Mocks Me by Steve Margolis. That book was a mini-memoir from Margolis who has the disorder and throughout most of his life he never told anyone about what he saw or heard because he thought they would just think he was crazy. I just thought I’d throw that in because I thought that it was amazing that I was reading two books at the same time that mentioned synesthesia!
Bottom Line: While I didn’t find The Forgotten Room all that chilling or creepy, I did find the intricate plot enjoyable and the pages flew by fairly quickly. The book can be enjoyed without having read the other books. The question is though would I have enjoyed it even more if I knew more of Logan;s back story? As such, I will probably read another book in the Jeremy Logan series. Maybe first though, I’ll read a Douglas Preston’s solo books. I have read one of Preston’s solo efforts The Codex, which I enjoyed! (Book 14 of 2016)
Links for the Further Exploration of the Novels of Lincoln Child
Author’s Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon
Preston and Child
